


Stay II

by shrimpette



Series: Stay [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Altered Mental States, Angst, Blindness, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Grey and Gray Morality, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Sturm und Drang :'D, canonverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 19:59:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12660411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrimpette/pseuds/shrimpette
Summary: This is an immediate continuation of "Stay," but I've decided to make this an optional read. So if you haven't read the first part, please do :)





	Stay II

**Author's Note:**

> the continuation nobody's asked for  
> xoxo
> 
> well  
> some people did  
> and i kind of wanted to do it so  
> :D

Naruto breathed out, sending a worried look towards Sasuke, who wasn’t even able to see it and get annoyed by it. Sasuke's body was one big bruise, and it was mostly Naruto’s fault. One time he didn't tell Sasuke whether the stairs were going up or down, so he fell down. A few times Naruto's left the scrolls he was reading on the floor, so the man tripped. Then there were all these times when Naruto would grab his arm too hard to stop him from slipping or walking into some obstacle.

Sasuke’s never complained. His superior reflexes, his grace—it was all gone. He was merely a husk of his former self, and it was clear that he wasn't taking it well. He didn't _want_ Naruto's help. He was scoffing whenever Naruto was trying to describe him his surroundings or even the way the food was arranged on his plate. Sasuke's never asked Naruto to lead him anywhere, never asked him for _anything_. After that first night Naruto thought they would keep on sleeping in the same bed but no, Sasuke made it perfectly clear (in a rather roundabout way) that he didn't want Naruto anywhere near him. The man was growing more and more silent with every passing day. Naruto hated everything about it.

"I've already told the council I'm resigning," the blonde mumbled out. Sasuke didn't acknowledge his words in any way, as if he didn't even notice he was being spoken to. Naruto cleared his throat. That too failed to catch the other man's attention. "There's nothing about seeing through somebody else's eyes in Konoha," he informed Sasuke in somber tone. "But we could go visit Gaara after I'll be done with being hokage," he suggested.

"Forget it," Sasuke rasped in reply.

"I think a change of scenery would be good," Naruto disagreed. "This place is too big," he noted.

"I'll manage," the man snarled at him. "If you want to go, go. It's not like I'm keeping you trapped in here."

"You _know_ I'm not going to leave you alone so I have no idea why you'd say that," the blonde sighed.

“I don't need you in here, I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself,” Sasuke growled. Whenever he was talking to Naruto, he was facing him. If someone was watching the scene from some distance, they wouldn't be able to tell that the man couldn't see. Unfortunately, Sasuke’s eyes remained fixed in one point, blank and obviously blind. Naruto rested his head on his hand. Sasuke had asked him to stay. Sure, it might've been just a moment of weakness but it had seemed much, much more sincere than _this_.

“I know,” he lied. “But _I_ need _you_ ,” he confessed. This time he was telling the truth.

“You _don't_ ,” the brunette disagreed. “I'm just slowing you down,” he blurted out, sounding pissed off. “You can't afford to bother yourself with a deadweight.”

“Sasuke, it's been just _one week_ ,” the blonde pointed out. “I know you're used to being a freaking genius, and I know you're getting impatient with yourself but seriously, give yourself more time. When you'll get more used to the new circumstances, I'll lead you to the toads, and it'll get better,” he promised. “But first you need to familiarize yourself with being blind, like, otherwise you won't be able to use the sage mode, you need to be at peace, with yourself,” he lectured. “And right now you're, well, definitely _not_ at peace with yourself.”

“Do you _really_ believe I'm unable to do something you've done when you were _sixteen_?”

“I had a pretty good motivation back then, but it still was difficult to focus,” Naruto explained.

“Do you think I'm not motivated enough?” Sasuke hissed at him.

Naruto stared at him for a longer while, uncertain about how he should reply. Learning how to use nature chakra _was_ difficult. There was no way Sasuke would be able to do it off the bat. And then… Sasuke would get even more frustrated with himself. Not to mention that even when he'd manage to learn it, the results weren’t _this_ spectacular. It was better than being completely blind but it was nothing compared to actually seeing, especially since Sasuke had been able to see more and better than other people. He probably would've been almost as depressed if he's lost _only_ his sharingan.

“Well, er, I’m pretty certain that you’re motivated,” Naruto eventually answered. “But your mind and body must be ready, otherwise you'll just get struck across your head by a toad, and, well, I don't think they'd accept you like _this_ anyways,” he continued. “Sasuke, it's obvious that you're hurting. Just give yourself a few more weeks,” he pleaded. “Nobody's expecting you to adapt within days. Some people need _years_ ,” he argued.

Sasuke simply frowned at him. Naruto took a deep breath. Alright, Sasuke didn't want his help, he didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he could _perhaps_ need some assistance. It was probably both pride and habit. Naruto remembered just one instance when the man _kind of_ asked for help, and he'd been twelve back then. He'd also been embarrassed beyond belief, and all he'd wanted was some pointers on how to climb a tree by focusing chakra in his feet. So, generally speaking, Sasuke wasn't used to asking for help. It seemed that he never grew out of this.

But, if the man truly wanted to stay away from Naruto, there were hundreds of places he could’ve gone to, and yet Sasuke usually ended up wherever Naruto was. There was a possibility that the only reason for it was that Naruto was pretty much like a lighthouse in the sea of darkness to him but… Sasuke _had_ asked him to stay. He _didn’t_ want to be left alone.

“Aren't you bored?” the blonde inquired to change topic. One of his clones was the acting hokage, some more were helping out in Konoha, and a whole bunch of them was shuffling through scrolls and manuscripts. At first he was joining them but Sasuke had no idea which one was the real him—he hadn’t been able to do that even with his rinnegan—but now it seemed as if it was upsetting him way more than before. This is why whenever Sasuke approached him, Naruto was focusing solely on his best friend. Who was finding him just to ignore the hell out of him. “We could go check which techniques you're able to pull off like this,” Naruto suggested, well aware of the fact that Sasuke wouldn't welcome any other distraction. “I'll go with you to keep the damage under control, like, burning down the whole forest is a rather bad idea,” he said in a warm voice.

“Whatever,” Sasuke relented with a heavy sigh. “Let's go.”

Naruto smiled at his little victory, and got up from the kitchen chair. He put his left—his good—hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

“Get up, we’re going outside,” he instructed the brunette, who stood up after letting out an unhappy grunt. “We’ll leave the kitchen, turn left, pass,” he paused, recalling the hideout layout, “eight rooms to our right, go through that bridge corridor thingy, and then downstairs to the courtyard,” he concluded, feeling rather accomplished.

“It's called skyway,” Sasuke corrected him. “And you don't have to describe the way to me every single time,” he complained.

“But it's easier like this,” Naruto scoffed. “This place is _huge_ , you know?” he blurted out. Sasuke started moving, so the blonde followed him, his hand on the other man's shoulder. “If we were staying in someplace cozier, you'd be able to find your way no problem,” he pointed out.

“I think you're forgetting that _someplace cozier_ is populated with people,” Sasuke grunted. “And we’re not exactly friends. I wanted to kill the currently residing kazekage,” he reminded Naruto in a tired tone. The blonde hummed under his nose. Well, alright, Sasuke had a point. He kept forgetting that there weren't too many people, who would be mourning his best friend’s death.

“Gaara and I are pretty close, though,” he mumbled out. “And I'd be staying with you, so—“

“No,” Sasuke interrupted him.

“But—“

“ _No_ ,” the man repeated. Naruto let out a heavy sigh. He had no idea how he could make Sasuke's life easier. The brunette quietly cursed when he collided with a column.

“Sorry,” Naruto whispered. “That's totally on me, I should've—“

“Shut up,” Sasuke snapped at him.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. He realized he wasn't ready for _this_ , that when he was telling Sasuke it would all end well, he had no idea just how taxing it would be for both of them. It was obvious that Sasuke was suffering more, and Naruto didn't really mind the fact that his best friend was taking his frustrations out on him but Naruto wasn’t some paragon of virtue, he wasn't able to just swallow every hardship as if it was nothing. Normally, he'd probably just cry himself to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed, ready to take on the world. But there was no way in hell he’d let Sasuke know that this situation could bring him to tears because it was obvious that it _wasn’t_ Sasuke's fault. Besides, Sasuke needed support, and not to feel guilty because Naruto wasn’t able to keep his emotions in check when he had it _so much easier_. So Naruto didn't allow himself a much needed mental breakdown.

Hinata still hasn’t contacted him. He hasn’t seen his children since… he had no idea when was the last time he'd seen his kids. But he knew they deserved to see him, even if just to hurl their well-founded hate at him. They deserved at least a closure. And he needed to tell them he loved them, to beg them for forgiveness, to ask if they would ever consider seeing him again. He knew the answer. Himawari was probably going to agree to seeing him after some time but Boruto… his son was never going to want to see his face again. Taking into consideration how much he resembled Naruto, Boruto would probably break all the mirrors in the house and start wearing a mask, just to spare himself and his beloved mother the sight of the man he hated.

Sasuke's been asking him about his family but Naruto dismissed him each and every time, not wanting to worry him. Eventually, Sasuke stopped asking. He generally almost stopped speaking.

“What if you summoned one of your birds?” Naruto asked, forcing himself to sound less stressed than he felt. “They could guide you, probably much better than me,” he mused. “Or I could summon you a frog but they're kind of obnoxious,” he offered.

“Naruto,” Sasuke growled at him, “there is _no_ reason for me to get used to being blind because I'm _not_ going to _stay_ blind,” he muttered. “Therefore _everything_ you're doing right now, _each_ and _every_ one of your stupid ideas is just a huge _waste_ of time,” he concluded in a grave tone.

Naruto's fingers unknowingly tightened around the other man's arm. What was he supposed to say? Assure his best friend that he was right, that he wouldn't remain blind? Tell him there was no way for them to know just how _long_ it would take them to find a working solution? Naruto had said it would be just a few months. He'd said he was willing to _wait_ for a _few more months_. It wasn’t like this. He was willing to wait for a whole eternity if this was what Sasuke needed.

“Sasuke,” he whispered, “it might take longer than you think,” he blurted out. The man came to a sudden halt, his muscles tense. “It would do you good to—“

“How much longer?”

“I don’t know,” the blonde admitted with a heavy heart.

“Do you _like_ having me like this?” Sasuke asked, sounding dead. Naruto opened his mouth to protest but the brunette interrupted him. “ _This_ is perfect for you, isn't it? I’m alive—just like you wanted, I'm with you—just like you wanted, I'm unable to do anything without your help, so every time I want something, I need your fucking approval,” he snarled, “you _want_ me to stay like this—“

“Fuck you,” Naruto growled back. “I just want you to get good enough so I wouldn't have to worry about leaving you alone,” he said. Sasuke flinched upon hearing this. Naruto went back through his words, and cursed, wanting to kick himself in the groin. “I don't mean it _like this_ ,” he sighed. “You getting better is my priority,” he confessed. “But there are also other things that need my attention, so—“

“I'm in your way,” Sasuke interrupted him in a hushed voice. “Get the fuck out of here,” he demanded, blue lightning dancing around his arm. Naruto hissed in pain and let go of him, stepping back. Sasuke turned to face him, obviously ready to fight him. The blonde breathed in, suddenly regretting the fact that Sasuke _knew_ where Naruto was.

“And _where_ am I supposed to go?” Naruto asked, hoping to distract his friend.

“I've heard you and Gaara were close,” Sasuke muttered back. “Leave,” he ordered.

“ _You_ asked me to _stay_ ,” the blonde reminded him in a scream.

“And now I'm telling you to leave,” the man uttered, unwavering.

“Why?!” Naruto asked. Sasuke frowned upon hearing the question.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” he decided while the lightning covered the bigger part of his body, drenching him in creepy blue light. “So fuck off and leave,” he snapped, leaning forward, as if he was about to charge at Naruto. Strands of black hair danced around in the air. Still, the blonde didn't feel threatened, and this was way worse than he'd ever anticipated it to. There was no reason to be afraid of Sasuke. Sasuke wasn't able to seriously hurt him, no matter how hard he tried. The blonde swallowed a sob boiling in his aching heart. The lightning around Sasuke's right arm took a form of a massive blade.

“Wow, okay, so you still have chidori, that's _amazing_ ,” he blurted out against his better judgement. The brunette's forehead twitched in annoyance. “I seriously wasn’t expecting this—“

“Shut up,” Sasuke demanded. His hand got too close to a wall, electrical currents started to cut through it, small debris were flying around him. Whenever it got near him, it was crushed to dust. Naruto breathed out in relief, realizing that Sasuke still had a potential to be a freaking monster when it came to power. He had immense chakra reserves, superior chakra control, he knew all these crazy techniques and had _years_ of battle experience. Sasuke had to be aware of how unfair their fight would've been right _now_ but he was still standing his ground. Naruto didn't really _need_ Sasuke to be strong, _Sasuke_ needed himself to be strong, and Naruto _wanted_ Sasuke to be strong. This was how it all worked. There's been a moment when Naruto doubted it to be possible but now… now he was certain that _this_ was just a matter of time, regardless of whether Sasuke was or wasn't getting his eyesight back. “Fucking leave, Naruto,” the man rasped, his voice breaking.

“I can literally _feel_ how messed up you are right now, there's no way I'd leave you like this,” the blonde yelled over the sound of crackling and chirping.

“I don't care, leave,” Sasuke hissed. The lightning was slowly fading away. Naruto gulped, forced himself to be brave, and took a step forward. “Leave,” the brunette insisted, his voice getting shakier with every syllable.

“I'm not leaving you alone,” the blonde protested. Then he could see, as if in slow-mo, how Sasuke leaned forward and charged towards him, destroying everything in his path. Naruto jumped away just in time to not get pulverized. If Sasuke hit him… well, he wouldn't _die_ but he'd get seriously hurt. And then, if for once Sasuke actually _wanted_ to kill him, then yeah, _then_ he'd die.

The brunette turned around, panting and still ready to fight him, so Naruto quickly jumped through the window, breaking it with his body, and escaped on the roof. Sasuke didn't follow him there but the blonde was still forced to dodge the missiles flying from under him, and escape whatever the part of roof he was on was collapsing. He kept a close watch on his best friend, always ready to step in and save him from a cave in but otherwise he was merely keeping his distance. It lasted for at least three more hours, and when it finally stopped, Naruto entered the building again. 

Almost an entire wing has been utterly destroyed. The damages reached at least two floors. Luckily for them, Orochimaru's libraries were located in the lower levels. The destroyed wing was the one they were living in. And then there was Sasuke, kneeling, bent in half and sobbing, surrounded by rubble and covered in white dust. Naruto slowly approached him.

“I'm going to sit next to you,” he informed the blind man, who did nothing to protest against it. Naruto knelt by Sasuke, close, so close that their thighs were almost touching. He hoped his best friend felt at least a little better after indulging himself in mindless destruction. His hand landed on Sasuke's trembling back, and started to rub soothing circles. “I guess that now it's clear which techniques you can still use,” he mused, hoping to cheer Sasuke up. He failed. “I like what you did with the place but we'll have to find ourselves somewhere to sleep,” he tried again.

“I'm not the only one, who's messed up right now,” Sasuke interrupted him. “The connection works both ways,” he reminded Naruto, sounding as if he was about to break apart.

“I know,” the blonde whispered back. “I'm sorry.”

“That… that part of you that _knew_ what to say,” Sasuke started in a feverish whisper, “it’s gone. It stayed _there_ , together with my eyes—“

“What are you talking about?”

“You,” Sasuke stammered, “you used to be gifted at talking,” he admitted in a heavy tone. “The you that stayed _there_ knew what to say. He'd always say the right thing,” he continued, choking on air. “I've _killed_ this part of you—“

“Don't be silly,” Naruto interrupted him. “I'm just _stressed_ ,” he pointed out. “So perhaps this is why I'm not meeting your expectations,” he suggested. The shirt Sasuke was wearing was damp and cold from sweat. The skin underneath it was unhealthily hot. “You'll get a cold if you stay like this,” Naruto said. “Let's go—“

“I've _killed_ you,” Sasuke insisted.

“I'm here, _alive_ ,” the blonde disagreed. He took off his coat, and covered the other man's back with it. He wasn't _really_ expecting Sasuke to get sick from something this minor but him getting sick was literally the last thing they needed, and it was much easier to just prevent it from happening. His hand moved the coat to bundle Sasuke up as much as it was only possible when the brunette wasn’t cooperating. His words stung Naruto. Sasuke was clearly disappointed with him, signaling that there was _something_ he wasn't getting from Naruto. The blonde breathed in.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know if it's even _real_?” Sasuke questioned. Naruto sent him a long, worried look.

“It’s real, you've said so yourself,” he reminded the man. There were moments when he was asking himself the exact same question. How was _this_ world any more real than the _other_ one? Everything made sense in _there_ but _here_ … almost nothing did.

“I fucking _killed_ you, you're _dead_ ,” the brunette cackled, suddenly straightening his back, and getting up from the tiled floor. “I guess it's a fitting punishment,” he whispered, rubbing the dirt and tears off his tired face. He had wrinkles around his eyes. Deep ones. Deeper than the ones he should have at his age.

“I'm _alive_ ,” Naruto scowled. Hokage's coat didn't really suit Sasuke. At least not with this design and these colors. The man decided to completely ignore him, so Naruto too got up, if only to grab the brunette by his wrist and physically force him to _stay_. “What do you want from me?! What am I _not_ doing?!”

“I don’t want anything,” Sasuke replied in a calm voice, audibly unfazed by Naruto's yelling.

“If there was _nothing_ you wanted from me, you wouldn't had asked me to _stay_ —“

“Let me rephrase it,” Sasuke interrupted him in an icy tone, “there's nothing I want from _you_. The person I _asked_ to stay with me no longer exists.”

“Has it ever crossed your mind that perhaps you're not the only one suffering?!” Naruto screamed at him. “Do you think it's _easy_ to abandon a loving wife and leave two kids behind? I have _no_ idea when was the last time I saw Boruto and Himawari! Do you even realize how much mess Konoha's going to be in because of me?! And then there's _you_ … do you think it's _fun_ to see you _like this_?!”

He stopped to catch his breath and yell some more but then he realized what he's just said.

“ _Like what_?” Sasuke demanded to know. He slowly turned his head towards Naruto, probably forgetting just how pointless the action was.

“Sorry,” the blonde mumbled out.

“No, indulge me,” the man growled. His voice cracked in the middle of the sentence, betraying his anxiety. He coughed and cleared his throat. “Like _what_?” he repeated, sounding somewhat more confident. Still, Naruto knew the man was faking it.

“Give it a rest, Sasuke,” the blonde pleaded.

“No, I want to know _why_ you're so disappointed with me,” the man sneered.

“I'm not _disappointed_ with you,” Naruto snapped. “But it fucking _hurts_ to see you barely able to move from one room to another and remember that you've done your part in defeating a freaking _god_ ,” he growled. “And you! You don't _want_ to change it, oh _no_ , you're just fucking _waiting_ for some miracle technique and getting pissed off because it's been a _whole_ _week_ , and there's no progress,” he yelled. His eyes began to sting him. He blinked, willing the tears away. “And at the _same_ fucking time as you refuse to become more independent, you also reject my help,” he shouted and choked on a sob. “If you _seriously_ believe I'd leave you _like this_ then you're  out of your fucking mind—“

“You _don’t_ have a say in this,” Sasuke interrupted him.

“Why?” Naruto inquired, getting closer to the other man.

“Because, whatever delusions you nurture, this is still _my_ life,” the brunette hissed at him.

 _“You_ wanted to _end_ your life,” Naruto retorted before he could stop himself. Sasuke fell silent for a short moment. Then he muttered something that sounded dangerously close to _perh_ _aps that would’ve been better_ , and turned around, probably to walk away. Naruto grabbed him by the coat, forgetting that Sasuke wasn’t really _wearing_ it, that it was merely draped over his shoulders. Naruto threw the stupid cloth away, deciding that at this point wearing anything resembling a kage garb was a disgusting joke, and caught the man's arm. If Sasuke _was_ able to see, he would've been far, far away by that point. But in his current state, he needed to find something to guide him—like a wall—and there was almost nothing since he'd destroyed it.

“Leave me _alone_ ,” the brunette ordered him, obviously irritated. “You have _no_ idea why you even want me to stay by your side, you're just fucking desperate to keep me there, and it's gotten boring,” he said.

“I want you to stay by my side because I _need you_ ,” Naruto confessed. “Because you’re my best friend,” he added, noting a displeased grunt Sasuke’s made, “because I love you,” he reminded the man, “and because I've promised I'd stay,” he concluded with an exasperated sigh. “And this is why you _are_ going to get your shit together,” he decided. “Not because you _want to_ or think you _should_ but because the feeling is mutual,” he grumbled. “Seriously, if you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for _me_ —“

“Get off your high horse,” Sasuke interrupted him, his voice cracking.

“Sasuke, _please_ ,” the blonde whispered. “I know that _this_ is not what you want, and trust me, I don't want this either. This,” he paused to let out a disappointed sigh, “it’s not how we used to imagine our future. I know, okay? To be honest, I wasn't expecting any of this even _two weeks ago_ , so,” he trailed off, “we’ll make it work though,” he promised. “But first you have to pull yourself together.”

“Do you seriously believe you're _not_ a part of the problem?!” Sasuke barked at him. “ _You_ keep me in the dark, both figuratively and literally,” he hissed.

“I'm sorry,” the blonde whispered back. “I didn't want to worry you—“

“I don’t remember signing up for being treated like a cracked egg,” Sasuke growled at him.

“…okay,” Naruto relented. “We’ll talk, I'll tell you everything I know,” he promised.

“I'm waiting,” the man muttered.

“Er, well, you know, Sasuke,” Naruto replied, “it's just a _thought_ , like, uh, a _proposition_ but, well, talking in _here_ doesn't seem like such a good idea,” he blurted out. “And it's not some stupid excuse, I swear,” he insisted. “But we could both use a shower, and it's rather drafty in here, I mean, some of the walls are missing,” he let out a nervous laugh. The frown on Sasuke's face kept deepening with every word.

“How is that _not_ a stupid excuse?”

“Because,” Naruto chirped, “a few days ago I sent out a few clones to um, scout the area, and one of them found an inn, and there's a hot spring there, and I could teleport us because I marked the spot, and remember, you kept complaining about cold water, so—“

“ _No_ ,” Sasuke disagreed. Naruto breathed out through his nose in frustration.

“This place is fucking depressing, Sasuke,” he confessed. He hadn’t been really _scouting the area_ , he'd been looking for a hot springs place. Taking cold showers wasn’t exactly _new_ but it also wasn’t too comfortable, and Naruto's got used to _some_ comfort. Besides, back then hot springs sounded like a good idea. It was relaxing. The water was warm. They could even eat actual food.  “I _ne_ _ed_ a change of scenery, and that inn is a really small one, nobody's going to recognize us, nobody's going to attack us,” he insisted. “And I _know_ you absolutely detest the idea but even if someone _did_ attack us, I'm capable of keeping us safe,” he sighed. “So _please_. We won't be coming back there if you don't want us to but just this once is going to be okay, I'm sure of it—“

“Whatever,” the brunette relented, evidently tired of Naruto's shit. Naruto grinned at him, and wiped remaining dust stains from his best friend’s face, earning himself an annoyed grunt.

“You won't regret it,” he promised.   


* * *

Sasuke let out a heavy sigh. He had no idea where he was. Well, maybe he had _some_ idea. According to Naruto, they were probably somewhere near that hot springs place. The moron didn't even consider the fact that probably both of them should've changed their clothes before appearing in public to raise less suspicions, no, he just teleported them as they stood somewhere… somewhere with trees—evergreens, Sasuke guessed since he could hear branches moving but there was almost no rustling.

Ever since he's lost his eyesight, Naruto's presence became even more prominent. Before, it was at the back of his mind, he'd been almost unconsciously aware of where Naruto was, of _how_ Naruto was. He could tell if the man was distressed or in danger, sometimes, very rarely, he could feel some positive emotions as well. Immediately after Sasuke'd left Konoha to never come back—not really since he _did_ appear in the village a few times, always out of necessity—for the last time, he'd check on the blonde, simultaneously relieved that everything seemed to be fine and disappointed by how little Naruto was affected by his absence.

It had been almost two years later when he'd felt that Naruto was in trouble. Sasuke had thrown away everything he'd been doing and set his course on Konoha. Halfway through his journey, the blonde disappeared from the face of earth. Sasuke could still feel him but it didn’t make much sense. He came to Konoha anyways. To protect it in Naruto’s stead, and to learn what happened. Rushed explanations did nothing to relieve his uneasiness. When Naruto came back—of course he came back, he always did—he was already in love with Hinata, so Sasuke left again, this time without saying his goodbyes. And that was when he'd stopped checking up on Naruto.

Afterwards, Naruto _usually_ seemed uneasy, his chakra, which had used to burn bright, his energy bouncing around, dulled and faded, became less of what it had been. And this lasted for almost seventeen years. At first, Sasuke had been coming to Konoha to see _what_ was wrong but it appeared that everything was fine, just the way it was supposed to be. Naruto was the hokage, he was married, he had a family. So Sasuke practically stopped coming altogether. There was no point.

Now… Naruto’s presence was like a wildfire. It’s used to be warm but now it was hot. It’s used to feel _safe_ but now it seemed that Sasuke would get hurt if he came too close. And yet it was the only source of heat in an otherwise cold and empty world. So Sasuke had two choices: freeze or burn to death.

His family’s always had an affinity to fire.

“We’re on a dust road, there’s a forest but it's not very thick and the trees are rather short,” Naruto murmured, “there are no other people nearby but we’ll reach the main road in like ten minutes, and there'll be _some_ people,” he continued. “The onsen is pretty small and rundown but it's still better than Orochimaru's bathroom,” he concluded in an apologetic tone. Sasuke sighed.

“I don't care,” he replied. “Where exactly are we?”

“Er, well,” the blonde stammered, “it's actually the Land of Waves,” he revealed. “I've been here with Jiraiya, it's really _okay_ ,” he said.

“You could launch a secret invasion if you wanted,” Sasuke realized.

“I guess,” Naruto admitted and hooked his arm around Sasuke’s. “I have just one marker in the countries, which have hidden villages, and I gifted the markers to the kages,” he said. “I keep more markers in the countries without hidden villages in case someone attacked them—“

“ _Our hero_ ,” Sasuke scoffed, removed Naruto's arm, and started moving forward. He heard the other man sigh, and chose to ignore it.

“It's not too different from what you proposed back then,” Naruto retorted. “Uh, well, it _is_ different, I’m not looming in the shadows all alone and miserable—“

“You _are_ miserable,” Sasuke interrupted him. “I wouldn't have been.”

“ _Sure_ ,” Naruto scoffed. “You would've been the happiest person in existence, after all this your natural state,” he huffed.

Sasuke ignored the stupid taunt. He had absolutely no reason to be _the happiest person in_ _existence_. He didn't even have a reason to be happy. He hasn't had a reason ever since his family had been slain.

“Nothing is going to change the fact that, if this was your wish, you could launch an invasion and wipe out a whole country in less than a _day_ ,” he muttered. “At least now I know how you've managed to keep _peace_ for so long,” he hissed. “If someone was to rebel, you'd—“

“I _wouldn't_ ,” Naruto whined. Literally _whined_. As if he was twelve years old again. “I'm not saying it's a _perfect_ solution but it's better than if I did nothing,” he argued. “At least now these countries are safe from the big ones. Somewhat safe. I'm not _this_ strong—“

“But they're not safe from _you_ ,” Sasuke barked.

“I think I know what you're getting at but I'm not forcing any kind of isolation on them,” Naruto sighed. “Most of these countries are flourishing now that they don't have to fear foreign influences,” he said. “They're governing themselves, they’re forming their own alliances… other kages and me are just keeping each other in check,” he explained.

“Nobody's keeping _you_ in check,” Sasuke disagreed.

“You are,” Naruto replied. It didn’t sound like a joke even though it _had_ to be one. And sick one at that. In his current state, Sasuke wouldn't be able to keep freaking _Iruka_ in check. “And don't forget the other kages,” Naruto pointed out. “I can't exactly solo the whole world,” he snorted.

“You couldn't even solo _me,_ ” Sasuke hissed. _Back in the days_ stayed at the back of his throat.

“My point exactly,” Naruto agreed in a cheery voice, his hand once again landing on Sasuke's shoulder and staying there. Sasuke tensed as the hand tried to correct his course. “Bah, fine, turn a little bit to the right,” Naruto relented. “We're on the main road now so, uh, perhaps we should stop discussing my world domination plans,” he joked. “For the time being,” he added. His hand brushed down Sasuke's shoulder, and soon enough Naruto hooked his arm against Sasuke’s _again_.

It was annoying.

There _was_ a time when Naruto's touch wasn’t unwelcome but now it was always to guide Sasuke, to _help_ him. Each and every touch was underlined with a thick layer of pity, and Sasuke hated pity. So he removed the offending arm. He regretted asking Naruto to stay. If he hadn't done it, it would've been much easier to convince the man that he didn't want him anywhere near him.

Sasuke breathed in, and focused on the sounds around him, searching for any nearing footsteps. There was a lot of it. Too much. And it came from every direction. He frowned when Naruto's arm grabbed his waist, and forcefully moved him to the left, probably saving him from colliding with someone. His frown deepened when he felt someone brushing against his side. Naruto didn't comment on it but his hand remained where it was.

“Stop touching me,” Sasuke demanded. Naruto listened, his hand immediately left Sasuke's side.

“Why?” he questioned. “If our roles were reversed, you would've done the same for me,” he insisted, audibly tired. “Well, to be honest, if our roles were reversed, I would've been practically glued to you,” he breathed out.

“I'm not you,” Sasuke muttered back.

“I know it sucks but it's either this or one of my _stupid ideas_ ,” Naruto replied, unfazed by the comment. “We're almost there, the onsen will be to your left, the path to it is rather curvy so—“

“ _Shut up_ ,” Sasuke growled.

“It would feel more natural if you were letting me hold your hand,” Naruto let out a heavy sigh. “We’d just look like a couple,” he pointed out.

“I don't care about what it _looks_ like,” Sasuke informed him. He was getting more and more pissed off with every passing day.

“Sasuke,” Naruto started, sounding worried. Sasuke hated it. He had no idea how _much_ he hated it. “If you feel uncomfortable around me, then I could try to get you in contact with, uh,” he paused, “your old team?” He suggested. “You liked them, right?”

“Naruto, I'm serious, _stop_ ,” Sasuke demanded. He wouldn't have minded needing _help_ if it was happening every once in a while, but he was _constantly_ in the need of it. 

And he was sick and tired of it.


End file.
